The Socceroos' World Cup group has been blown open after Paraguay defeated Turkey, but the South Americans suffered a monumental loss with a star playmaker banned from the Australia clash after being sent off in a historic first.
Paraguay's Victory and Key Incident
Paraguay's Matias Galarza struck the only goal of the game inside two minutes. However, they will be without Miguel Almiron in their Group D clash with Australia next week after the 32-year-old fell foul of new rules banning players from covering their mouths during confrontations with rival players.
Almiron and Turkey's Mert Mulder exchanged words following a foul in the middle of the field late in the first half. Almiron covered his mouth while saying something to Mulder, who immediately appealed to referee Ivan Barton for punishment. Barton went to video review and quickly ruled Almiron would be given a red card and ejected under a new rule put in place for this year's World Cup.
New Rule and FIFA's Stance
FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed for the new rule after Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni tried to hide verbal insults toward Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in a Champions League game.
Group D Implications
Despite the negative of losing Almiron, Paraguay are now in with a chance of progressing to the knockout round in second place under another set of rules put in place for the World Cup. Head-to-head results are the primary tiebreaker, meaning whoever wins between Paraguay and the Socceroos will finish second in the group while the loser will sit third and hope they are one of the eight best third-placed teams. A draw would be enough to put Australia in second place on a goal difference tiebreaker.
Australia's Next Challenge
The Socceroos will need to pick themselves up after their 2-0 loss to the United States on Friday in Seattle (Saturday AEST) but in contrast Paraguay will be riding the high of victory.
More to come...
